How to Stop Wood Chewing in Horses

Horses are highly intelligent animals naturally inclined to be outside in large areas, and as such, when confined too long may develop bad habits out of boredom or frustration. A common habit that horses develop to ease their boredom and frustration is chewing on their wood stalls or other wood in their enclosures.

Not only does chewing damage the wood, but it can also create problems for the horse such as causing undue wear on the incisors and the chance of splinters being lodged in the mouth or swallowed.

There are some medical issues, such as vitamin deficiencies, that may compel a horse to chew wood. But most of the time a horse that's chewing on wood is a bored horse.

Why Do Horses Chew Wood?

There are a few reasons why horses chew wood. It's worth noting that wood chewing is not typically observed among wild horses, so this is a behavior that typically results from keeping a horse in an unnatural environment.

Boredom

Horses kept in stalls or paddocks, secluded from other horses, or fed mostly concentrates without enough fodder to keep them chewing over a long period of time may become bored and chew fences for something to do.

Nutritional Deficiencies

Occasionally, vitamin deficiencies may cause a horse to develop pica—a taste for eating non-edible substances in an effort to alleviate the deficiency.1 This is not as common, but pica may indicate a serious underlying nutritional or hormonal problem.

Habit

Some horses may have learned to gnaw wood from stable or pasture mates. Like mischievous kids, they try what the other kids are trying, even if they would never have thought of it on their own—and the habit sticks. This is a bit of a trickier situation when it comes time to train the horse out of the wood-chewing behavior, because you may need to involve